


oh, how our hearts have grown close

by Lalikaa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 08:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11779293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalikaa/pseuds/Lalikaa
Summary: Sometimes it's the small gestures that are the most significant.





	oh, how our hearts have grown close

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all! I've been wanting to write KiyoYachi for a while now, and am so glad I finally have a complete story to share! This oneshot is set during chapter 230, directly after Kiyoko and Yachi's Canon Private Bath.

Hitoka was thankful that it was cold outside, because her body was on fire.

In reality, she knew that being out too long in the frosty winter air after she’d just taken a bath would give her a cold, but honestly, she had more important things to worry about. Besides, she was actually quite comfortable on the balcony of their inn, dangling her feet through the bars of the iron gate running around its perimeter.

As she looked out at the city lights of Tokyo, Hitoka put her hand up to her chest, feeling for her heartbeat. What had earlier been a cacophony of frenzied beats had now slowed down to steady thumps. Finally.

By all accounts, she was actually quite impressed with herself that she’d managed to survive the entire bath with Shimizu Kiyoko (a.k.a. the Most Beautiful and Wonderful Girl in the World) without spontaneously exploding from sheer nerves. It was an impressive feat on Hitoka's part. She could probably put it on her resume.

_“We will win our first match tomorrow. And once night comes, let’s come back here to do the baths again.”_

God, Hitoka had never wanted anything more. Karasuno winning their first match and having alone time with Kiyoko-san; the ideal day, honestly.

She knew Karasuno winning Nationals was even more important to Kiyoko-san, and it made Hitoka want them to win all the more, with the 100% guarantee that it would make her happy. After all, there are few things more gorgeous than Kiyoko-san’s smile. While it had been Hinata who had made sure that Hitoka knew she was worth being on the team, Kiyoko-san had been the one to convince her to join in the first place. Not that it had taken too much convincing at first glance. Hitoka prefers to think she isn't a shallow person, but in her defense, anyone on Earth would tell you Kiyoko-san is the most gorgeous person in existence.

Though of course Hitoka knows there is overwhelmingly more to Shimizu Kiyoko than her looks. There's her intelligence, her determination, her humor, her quiet and caring nature...

Hitoka can feel herself mentally and physically fall a little more in love with Kiyoko-san every day, in every moment.

Every time Kiyoko-san walks with her to the train station on their way home from practice; every time they eat lunch together; every time they review club plans together; every time Kiyoko-san greets her… actually, every time Kiyoko-san talks to her in general… All these moments whirl together in Hitoka’s head, vibrant and beautiful and ever-present; reaching out to her heart as it yearns for something that deep down Hitoka knows she may never have.

Hitoka hears the balcony door open and she involuntarily jumps as her heart rate spikes up again at an impossible rate.

"Goodnight," says a familiar, melodic voice.

_Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohg-_

\---*---

It had been a pleasant bath, Kiyoko thought as she brushed her wet hair in her and Hitoka's shared room. 

Hitoka-chan had been so cute, and had initiated their conversation so well, something Kiyoko knew she could never do quite as proficiently.

Meanwhile, Kiyoko had admitted, out loud, that she was not good at socializing with others. To Hitoka, of all people.

Yachi Hitoka, her first real friend. Not to say that Kiyoko didn’t feel a certain closeness with Asahi, Daichi, or Suga, but at the same time, she felt less comfortable talking intimately with them. Not like how she felt with Hitoka-chan.

Kiyoko didn’t know if she should feel sad or not that it had taken up to her senior year of high school to finally make her first real connection to someone else. Making friends was something you were supposed to start doing in preschool. Yet for Kiyoko, by mid-elementary school, she had simply come to accept that she wasn’t good at making friends, much less having them, and kept to herself instead. It was Hitoka who had pulled Kiyoko out of her introverted world, piece by gentle piece.

However, there was a slight, underlying problem, and Kiyoko didn't have the faintest idea of how to resolve it. Since Hitoka-chan was Kiyoko’s first real friend, Kiyoko didn’t know how people were normally supposed to feel about their friends. Consequently, Kiyoko had never been particularly interested in having a boyfriend or a girlfriend, and was content to her lack of romantic interest, so she therefore did also not know how people were normally supposed to feel about their crushes.  

This problem became more and more apparent day by day, right aside the ever-present question that had kicked back to relax in her mind: Did she like Hitoka-chan as a girl friend or as a potential Girlfriend?

There was so much to like, even love, about Hitoka. Kiyoko loved listening to Hitoka talk; she had so much passion and energy packed in such a small body. Kiyoko especially loved when Hitoka laughed; it was such a contagiously bright, bubbly sound. 

Kiyoko had never imagined herself finding this much happiness in another person.

She sighed. Not that it would matter, anyway. Kiyoko was going to university in the spring, and she was really terrible about keeping in contact with people that she didn't physically see every day.

She put her brush down, hair now free of tangles. She looked at the door, hoping Hitoka would walk through it if she stared hard enough, but she still wasn’t back from… wherever she had dashed off to after their bath.

Kiyoko should do the sensible thing and sleep. Hitoka would come back in time.

Though it couldn’t hurt to find Hitoka to say goodnight, Kiyoko reasoned.

As Kiyoko stepped into the hallway, she ran into Yamaguchi, who helpfully pointed her to the balcony when she had asked him if he'd seen Hitoka.

“I was going to tell her goodnight, but she looked really deep in thought, so I didn’t want to bother her,” Yamaguchi supplied.

Kiyoko thanked him, and made her way towards the balcony, briefly considering what she was going to say; this thankfully came quickly to her. She was simply going to say goodnight to Hitoka-chan, like Yamaguchi had originally planned, and possibly suggest she come inside. Reassured by her short practiced greeting, Kiyoko stepped onto the balcony.

Hitoka jumped slightly at the sound of the door opening.

“Goodnight,” Kiyoko said faintly. She then promptly walked over and sat down next to Hitoka, who looked a little frazzled, but gave Kiyoko a small wave and a smile nonetheless.

Wait, wait. This wasn’t quite right. Why had she sat down? Hitoka needed alone time, most likely, and she really shouldn’t intrude upon that.

"Do you really believe we can win Nationals?" Hitoka blurted out.

Well, maybe it was alright that Kiyoko had sat next to her, then. It made sense; Hitoka was the type of person who liked to talk. The least Kiyoko could do was stay to converse. Yes, that should be fine. 

"I truly do," Kiyoko said after what she hoped wasn't too long of a pause.

"Then I do too!" Hitoka declared.

Kiyoko smiled at her, and they sat for a minute in what Kiyoko considered comfortable silence. She could tell from Hitoka's squirming it might not be so comfortable for her, and started racking her brain for something to say, but kept coming up blank.  

As usual, Hitoka beat her to talking first; "I wish I could be like you, Kiyoko-san. You're so confident and smart. You're passionate and reliable and... and I just hope I can be as amazing of a manager as you!"

Hitoka immediately looked away after saying this, eyes trained to her feet dangling off the edge, a small blush creeping its way to her cheeks. Kiyoko felt like crying, just a little. What had she done to deserve this sweet girl in her life? Certainly nothing she could think of.

"You are an amazing manager already," Kiyoko assured her. "You're such a fast learner and you care about the team so much. I admire you, too."

Hitoka looked a little like a guppy, her mouth hung open in what Kiyoko hoped was a positive response. Reading people's reactions was never one of her strong suits.

"Thank you," Hitoka said in a wobbly voice.

Oh, no, was she going to cry? Kiyoko wasn't prepared for this. What do girlfriends do when their significant other is crying? No wait, what do just friends do? Why had she thought of girlfriends first?

In her jumbled thoughts, as if her heart had taken her own lapse of ability to process thought to its advantage, Kiyoko found her hand moving until it rested on top of Hitoka's hand.

As soon as their hands touched, a few tears sprang from Hitoka's eyes.

Oh no, oh no, had she made it worse? Kiyoko felt mildly panicked, though something told her not to let go. This just... felt right.

Slowly, Hitoka flipped her hand carefully under Kiyoko's. Her palm was so, so warm. She then rubbed her eyes with her other hand, and turned to Kiyoko with the loveliest smile. Kiyoko felt her heart skip a beat.

She gave Hitoka's hand a squeeze of reassurance that yes, even though Kiyoko couldn't express it in words, this is how she felt in her heart. Kiyoko hoped Hitoka would understand. As if on cue, Hitoka squeezed her hand back.

Kiyoko smiled at the soft look of wonder in Hitoka’s expression, her hair blowing faintly out of her butterfly clip. Kiyoko resisted the urge to tuck the strands behind her ears. They sat together on the balcony, holding hands in the crisp night air, neither one wanting to let go first. Sitting together like this was a small gesture, but to Kiyoko it was exciting and new, though certainly something she could become accustomed to. 

To Kiyoko, spring is the season for growth and change.

To Kiyoko, spring had come early this year.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you can! I'd love feedback on this, especially concerning how I wrote both of their characters! Thanks so much for reading! <3


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